Wirepoints’ Mark Glennon on AM560’s Morning Answer
April 22, 2026
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Summary and audio linked here.
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According to the report, between 2011 and 2019, about one in five CPS students lived within .2 miles of a homicide in any given year; six percent of students experienced this multiple times in a single year. “Students who lived in close proximity to homicide had, on average, lower attendance rates, lower standardized test scores, reduced GPA, and a greater likelihood of having a reported behavioral infraction, suspension, or expulsion following a homicide in their neighborhood, compared to before the homicide occurred,” the report states.
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Audio and summary Illinois bill would override local law to allow homeless living in all public parks – Wirepoints
April 14, 2026
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If this bill passes, say goodbye to local control over all Illinois parks and expect to see open drug and alcohol use, needles, no sanitation and fire hazards, but no ordinary park users.
Mark Glennon on AM560’s Morning Answer: Chicago Fiscal Crisis Worse Than Pre-Bankruptcy Detroit, HIV Surge and Public Health Threat From Open Borders Goes Unreported
April 10, 2026
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Summary and audio linked here.
Mark Glennon on AM560’s Morning Answer: Chicago pension buyout plan mostly shifts debt rather than eliminating it, property tax surge doubles inflation over three decades
April 3, 2026
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Chicago’s political leadership is floating a pension buyout program as evidence it is seriously addressing the city’s thirty-six-billion-dollar unfunded pension liability, but Mark Glennon, founder of the Illinois policy research organization Wirepoints, said that the proposal moves debt from one column to another rather than reducing it, and that the broader fiscal picture facing the city continues to deteriorate across every measurable dimension. Audio here.
The study uses measurable, quantitative data on student performance to draw a completely subjective conclusion. Differences are attributable to some nebulous “positive atmosphere” and “trust” among students, teachers, and principals. Substantial resources must be invested to build that atmosphere, of course. It’s all very scientific, you know- they did a STUDY to prove it.
How have we let them get away with this nonsense?
Those positive elements are derived from a survey conducted annually at schools (the 5Essentials student and teacher surveys).
Of course, whether those elements of trust, etc. are properly defined and the survey methods are rigorous is an entirely different question that should be addressed if it hasn’t already been somewhere else.
I’ve seen several 5Essential tests (I ask to see a copy each year at my boy’s school) and it is complete psychobabble nonsense.
It’s akin to economists taking data points from the real economy, then concluding “consumer confidence” is the primary driver of that data. Therefore, to improve economic conditions, we should invest in a massive campaign to improve consumer confidence. As long as everybody feels good, the economy is great!
Come to think of it, that’s exactly what the Democrats are trying to do. They are stunned that this approach doesn’t work. And they will be looking for excuses when it doesn’t work in schools either.